| Course | GF583 Treasury Management I |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 1 |
| Paper type | Discussion board post |
| Length | About 500 words, 2 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 discussion post |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | MS in Finance |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for GF583 Unit 1
$30.7 Million at the Bank, $21.4 Million to Spend: A Unit 1 Post on Where an Employer's Cash Sits
GF583 · Unit 1 Discussion
Posted by [Student Name]
The distributor, its banks, every balance and the classmates are composite; the textbook and article cited are real.
Initial Post
I work in cash applications at a Kansas City company that distributes vaccines, pharmaceuticals and supplies to veterinary clinics across the central states. Our treasurer asked my team last month to list where our money was at 9:00 on a mid-cycle Wednesday. The answer surprised me.
Bank-side positions that morning:
1. A government money market fund reached by the concentration account's overnight sweep: $16.4 million.
2. The concentration account itself, kept at its target balance: $5.0 million.
3. Lockbox deposits received but not yet available for use: $4.7 million.
4. Deposits sitting in four distribution centers' local accounts, waiting for that afternoon's transfer to the concentration account: $3.3 million.
5. Card settlements from online orders, in transit from the processor: $1.3 million.
6. The zero-balance disbursement account, which is funded each day only to cover checks presented: zero.
The total is $30.7 million. Our general ledger, however, showed $22.8 million, because it subtracts $7.9 million of checks we had written to suppliers that had not yet cleared.
What we could actually spend that morning: only the fund and the concentration account, $21.4 million. The lockbox deposits, local center deposits and card settlements were ours, but not yet usable.
The same company had three different cash balances that morning, $30.7 million at its banks, $22.8 million on its books and $21.4 million it could actually use, and each answers a different question about what the treasurer can do.
The gap between bank and book is float, money moving through the payment system, which corporate liquidity texts treat as a resource to be measured and managed rather than an accident of timing (Kallberg & Parkinson, 1993). Our checks outstanding make the bank balance look larger than it really is, while deposits in clearing make our usable balance smaller than what customers have already paid. Textbooks on cash management describe exactly these categories: ledger, collected and available balances (Bragg, 2010).
I now understand why our treasurer watches available cash rather than the ledger. Paying a large supplier from the ledger figure could overdraw the concentration account if the lockbox deposits had not yet become available.
My question for the group: does your employer report cash to managers as a ledger figure or an available figure, and has the difference ever caused a problem?
Reply to Dana
Dana, your hospital system keeps $8 million in each of its regional banks. Are those balances earning anything, or are they sitting to cover fees? A concentration structure might free most of it.
Reply to Victor
Victor, you mentioned your firm's sweep moves cash into a fund every night. Do you know what the fund yields compared with the bank's earnings credit rate on balances left behind?
References
Bragg, S. M. (2010). Treasury management: The practitioner's guide. Wiley.
Kallberg, J. G., & Parkinson, K. L. (1993). Corporate liquidity: Management and measurement. Irwin.
What the GF583 Unit 1 assignment asks for
The opening GF583 discussion asks you to locate an employer's cash on a specific day and explain why the totals differ. List each bank-side position, such as sweep investments, concentration and lockbox accounts, local depository accounts, settlements in transit and zero-balance accounts, with amounts. Compare the bank total with the ledger balance and explain the difference, usually checks written but not cleared. Then identify how much was actually available to spend and why the rest was not. Connect the gaps to float and to the categories of balance used in treasury practice. End with a question about how classmates' employers report cash. Replies should probe how a classmate's balances are used or earn. Two treasury texts, listed in APA 7, should back the float and balance definitions, and the post should not run far past its word guidance.
How the GF 583 Unit 1 example is put together
The writer's job in cash applications and the treasurer's request open the example. A numbered list gives six bank-side positions totaling $30.7 million, including a zero-balance account shown at zero. A paragraph reconciles to the $22.8 million ledger through $7.9 million of outstanding checks, and another counts the $21.4 million available. The highlighted sentence names the three balances and the questions each answers. A paragraph explains float as money moving through the payment system, citing Kallberg and Parkinson, and the ledger, collected and available categories from Bragg. The post explains why the treasurer watches available cash and asks classmates how their employers report it. Dana is asked whether regional hospital balances earn anything, and Victor how his sweep fund's yield compares with an earnings credit rate.
GF583 Unit 1 rubric: what earns full points
Credit on this opening GF583 post follows completeness and correct reconciliation. Graders look for each cash position listed with an amount, a bank total that reconciles to the ledger through named items, and a clear statement of what was available to spend and why. Using the treasury categories of ledger, collected and available balances shows the student has connected the example to course concepts. Explaining float as a measurable item rather than a bookkeeping quirk earns analytical credit. Replies score when they ask how a classmate's balances are deployed or priced. The two treasury texts listed in APA 7 and a post near the stated length complete the marks for this MS in Finance unit.
Common GF583 Unit 1 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Many first GF583 posts give one cash figure without saying whether it is the bank balance, the book balance or the amount available. Others list accounts but cannot reconcile them to the ledger, often because outstanding checks are forgotten. Zero-balance accounts are left out, though they show how disbursements are funded. Deposits in clearing are counted as spendable. The connection to float is missing, so the post stays descriptive. Replies tend to compare employers' sizes instead of asking how their cash is managed. Whatever organization you describe, keep the sequence: positions with amounts, bank total, reconciliation to the ledger, the available figure, float and a question for classmates.
Get a GF583 Unit 1 example written to your instructions
Tell us the employer you plan to describe, or let us build a composite where the prompt permits it, and include the board wording for Unit 1 plus the rubric. The custom post maps that firm's cash by location and includes reply drafts if your section grades them; it is written in 24-48h, and the first request costs nothing. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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GF583 Unit 1 questions, answered
Can the post describe my employer without revealing its balances?
Yes. Round or scale the figures, or substitute an invented firm laid out like your employer's accounts, and note in one line that the numbers are altered. The grader is reading for where cash sits and when it becomes usable, not for the actual balance. Account types and their timing matter far more than the size of any number.
What separates ledger cash from available cash?
Ledger cash is what the firm's books show after recording every deposit and every check written. Available cash is what the bank will let the firm spend today, after deposits clear and before outstanding checks are presented. The two can differ by millions in a firm that writes or receives many checks, and a treasury course expects the gap named and explained.
Should a zero-balance account appear in the table?
Yes, with a zero beside it and a sentence on how it is funded. A zero-balance disbursement account draws from the concentration account as checks clear, so its money is already counted there. Listing it separately with a balance would double count. Showing it at zero demonstrates that the structure is understood, which often earns more than the figure itself.
Where can I find a free GF583 Unit 1 sample paper?
This page holds a complete GF583 Unit 1 discussion post mapping a distributor's cash across six locations, reconciling bank, ledger and available balances, with two replies and APA 7 references.
Why was only $21.4 million spendable when the banks held $30.7 million?
Lockbox deposits, local center deposits and card settlements had not yet become available, so only the money market fund and the concentration account, $21.4 million together, could be used that morning.